


October 2020 Writing Challenge

by amberlazuli



Category: HELIOS Rising Heroes (Video Game)
Genre: 500 words or less, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Fic Challenge, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:54:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 16,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26782477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amberlazuli/pseuds/amberlazuli
Summary: This bartender!Billy idea won't leave me alone so what better way to indulge it than to do a fic challenge?  31 days of fics, all loosely following the same storyline.
Relationships: Faith Beams/Billy Wise
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	1. Coke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last thing I should be doing right now is a fic challenge but I'd done one of these a couple of years ago and it was really fun, so maybe it's the best way to get me into writing since a combination of real life work/lack of inspiration/the state of the world in general has kind of muted my creativity lately and maybe working in 500 word bursts will help push me along! I'm working from a prompt list but I might make adjustments since some of them don't really fit the overall theme.
> 
> Basically the idea came from one of Billy's card stories where he talks about working as a flair bartender (which, if you aren't familiar with that, please look it up because it's really cool) and I decided to turn it into an AU where he and Faith meet at a nightclub while they're both working. 
> 
> I'll try to stay on top of the prompts but I can't make any promises...let's see how it goes...

“You’re new here, right?”

“ _Maaaybe,_ ” was the drawn-out response he received, along with a rather impressive flip of a bottle before it was placed on top of the wooden bar and slid down to a waiting patron. “Though I can’t recall seeing you before, either.”

“Aha,” he smirked, waiting for the next drink to be made before speaking again. “I do a circuit, so if you started in the past couple of weeks, that might explain it.”

“I see, I see. Mr. DJ is popular, hmm?” 

This was accompanied by a bottle being tossed high in the air and then expertly caught before it smashed into the bar, the motion so smooth it seemed almost instinctive. 

“I didn’t realize they’d hired a flair bartender here, though,” he rather expertly dodged the preceding question, leaning on the counter. 

“They didn’t. Technically,” is all he got from that not-so-subtle inquiry, which told him absolutely nothing, and he watched as the other man idly passed a cocktail shaker behind his back, damn near twirling it on his fingers before pouring the contents into a waiting glass. 

There was silence then—well, as silent as a busy nightclub could ever be—and a few more drinks were made and handed out before the bartender spoke again. 

“Anyway, can I get you something?”

“Just a Coke. I’m still technically working.”

“Mm-hmm,” he hummed under his breath, filling the glass and serving it without any theatrics at all.

“What? I don’t get a show?” 

“If you want a show, DJ, you’d better order something worth my effort,” the man leaned closer, and there was no mistaking the intent behind his words. “Billy, by the way.”

“Faith,” he replied, shaking the proffered hand, and he grabbed his Coke and slid off the barstool. “I’ll see you around, then.”

“I’m sure you will, DJ,” was the only response he heard before the bartender’s voice was swallowed by the crowd. 


	2. Jealous

He sighed as he took his customary seat, barely having touched the stool before a glass of Coke was set in front of him. 

“Trouble?”

“Two of my girlfriends are getting into it again,” he muttered, downing about half the glass in one swallow and wincing as the carbonated soda slid down his throat. 

His schedule had brought him to this particular nightclub more often in the past month or so and it was becoming a regular thing to at least talk to Billy for a minute or two between sets, but he realized that this was probably the most personal thing he’d ever said. 

“I don’t know if I want to ask,” Billy decided, his expression nearly indecipherable behind the orange-tinted goggles that seemed to be permanently attached to his face. 

“It happens all the time, they’ll figure it out,” Faith yawned, fingers tapping against his chin as Billy promptly ignored him in favor of serving more customers. 

“Just how many girlfriends do you have, then?” Billy eventually asked, pulling over a candy dish that was sitting behind the bar and biting into a lollipop with a noise that made Faith wince. 

“At any given time? Five...ish…” he  _ tried _ to remember, he really did, but honestly—how was he supposed to? He groaned as his phone buzzed yet again and angrily stuffed it back into his pocket. 

“Well, good luck with that,” Billy replied, disappearing behind the bar to grab more supplies. Faith didn’t think anything of it, turning around to get a better view of the club and debating whether he should just turn his phone off entirely. 

Normally he could make up some excuse about work, but even making the effort to type out that kind of reply felt like it would take  _ way  _ too much energy. 

“Problem solved?”

“More like ‘problem ignored until it goes away’,” Faith smirked, swiveling back around. “And if not, well, there’s never really a shortage of offers.”

“You’re an interesting man, DJ,” Billy snapped off the rest of his lollipop with a rather sickening crunch. 

“What? Jealous?” Faith leaned closer and Billy crossed his arms, seemingly staring right past him. 

“It’s hard to be jealous about something I’ve never wanted,” he eventually said, and Faith was still trying to figure out  _ exactly _ what that meant when Billy spoke again. “Later, DJ. I’m going on break."

He slunk away before Faith even had a chance to reply.


	3. Treat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized I hadn't mentioned that this is also...slightly a future fic, so everyone is ~2 years older than their canon ages!

“Do I need to tell you that you’re currently on your third piece of chocolate cake in...oh…just over two hours?”

“I’m treating myself,” Faith replied tersely, fingers twitching with the urge to dig his phone out, but the last glance he’d taken upon waking up had shown that things had  _ not,  _ in fact, calmed down since the night before, so leaving it off was by far the best option. 

That was the only reason he was indulging so much. It was a good distraction.

“It’s not like I care or anything, but what’s up with you? I know it’s not a breakup since that happens too often for it to have any impact.”

“Ouch, Ochibi-chan,” Faith grimaced, feigning hurt and dramatically holding a hand over his heart. 

“Boss! I’m taking a break!” the boy yelled before sliding into the booth across from Faith. “Talk.”

Faith sighed heavily, knowing that once Junior got like  _ this,  _ he didn’t let up until he’d gotten a sufficient answer. How the kid had wormed his way into Faith’s inner circle in the first place was still a mystery, but ever since meeting at the diner nearly two years ago they’d formed this weird sort of bond. 

It wasn’t friendship, not really, but it was  _ something.  _

“You know I never care what people think about my relationships, yeah?”

“Sadly, yes,” Junior rolled his eyes. “Go on.”

“Well, there’s this new bartender at one of the clubs I DJ at, and I’m pretty sure he was judging me hard when he found out. And it...I dunno, I felt weird about it,” Faith stabbed at his piece of cake, swirling the chocolate icing around. 

“The shitty DJ has a conscience after all! I was seriously wondering,” Junior grunted, crossing his arms and leaning back. “So, what’s the problem?”

“I’ve never had to figure out a way to make someone  _ like  _ me before, y’know? They all just kinda... _do_ ,” he admitted, realizing the instant the words had left his mouth how vain they sounded.

“Oh no, boo hoo, Mr. ‘I’m so handsome and popular’ has to deal with the problems of us lesser folk!”

“Shut up,” Faith pushed the now-empty plate away. “I thought you were going to help.”

“I never said that,” Junior pointed out, but eventually his expression softened a bit. “Look, if you want my advice...have you ever considered, I dunno,  _ not  _ having a billion girlfriends at once?”

“It’s not like I ask for them! I just…”

“Can’t say no, right,” Junior didn’t look like he considered that a valid excuse. “I suggest you learn, if this guy’s opinion is so important to you.”

“It’s not…”

“Oi, newbie! I don’t pay you to sit around!”

“I said I was taking a break!” Junior immediately hopped up, though, scowling as he grabbed a nearby cleaning rag. “And I’ve worked here for  _ two years!” _

Faith stifled a laugh at that, but he had to admit that Junior had a point. 

...Probably.


	4. Handy

He had to admit it: having a roommate was handy.

He hadn’t been looking for one, specifically, but when he’d seen the ad a couple of years before and realized it was in a central location and well within his budget...well, he’d have been a fool not to check it out. 

His roommate, as it turned out, was a full-time streamer and content creator so he spent much of his time in a room dedicated to that and living together had worked out nicely for the both of them given that neither of them kept what could be called ‘normal’ office hours. 

“Have you considered that maybe...he didn’t realize you were flirting? You kinda...you do it a lot…” 

Said roommate is currently setting up for a stream and Billy shrugged, leaning on the back of his chair. “I was being  _ really  _ obvious though.”

“If this guy’s a big playboy you...you wouldn’t be into that…”

“Nah, but he’s super hot,” Billy sighed dramatically and stepped out of view as the camera turned on. 

He heard a vague scratching on the other side of the door, thinking that this might be a good excuse to get out and clear his head for a while. 

“Hey, should I take Buddy for a walk?”

“Hmm? Yeah, go ahead,” the other man didn’t turn around but a second later Billy heard him sigh. “Chat wants you to say ‘hi.’”

“Hi, chat!” he stepped into view and waved, hanging off the back of the gaming chair again. He was pretty convinced all of Gray’s viewers thought there was something going on between them, and it was amusing enough that he was willing to continue the ruse. 

There wasn’t, for the record, but it didn’t hurt to have some fun—especially since Gray had the  _ best _ reactions to it.

“Well, I’ve gotta run. Be nice to him,” he instructed before leaning down to kiss Gray’s cheek and grinning when the older man immediately turned a rather fascinating shade of red. “Later, dear. Bye, chat~” he waved and darted out of frame. 

Buddy was waiting when he opened the door, the large dog already holding his leash in his mouth, and Billy laughed and ruffled his soft ears.

There was no reason to get upset over some random DJ, he decided as they left the building. 

No reason at all. 


	5. Rain

“Awful weather, huh?”

“I’ve seen worse.”

Billy wasn’t expecting much more of a response, but he sat down on the sheltered ledge regardless and let a tiny white and black cat clamber into his lap. 

It had started raining just as he was bringing Buddy home, and since the dog seemed to be drawn magnetically to any mud or puddles, getting him back in the house before it really started coming down had become a priority. 

Gray was still streaming, though, and probably would be for another hour or two, so Billy had decided to make his way to the courtyard that occupied the middle of their complex. 

There was a small gazebo that offered a place to keep dry, and while it wasn’t unusual to see a stray cat or two hanging around, there was currently a veritable army of them crowded under the angled roof.

Everything made much more sense when he saw who else was occupying the space, since the man in question seemed to be some sort of cat whisperer, but he was good--if quiet--company, and Billy knew he was welcome.

He didn’t know much of anything about Ren other than his name, and while normally that would have inspired him to do some digging...for some reason, in this one case, it didn’t feel right snooping around. 

Ren would tell him, or he wouldn’t, but either way...sometimes secrets were just meant to be kept.

Billy knew that well enough.

“Pumpkin’s going to give birth soon,” Ren finally said, and Billy followed his gaze to a large orange cat who certainly looked heavily pregnant. “Cats are usually fine by themselves, but I’d rather give the kittens away than leave them out here for the winter.”

“I’d take one, but I’m not sure Buddy would like that~” he laughed, seeing Ren quirk a tiny smile out of the corner of his eye. “I’ll ask around at the club.”

“Thanks,” Ren stretched his arms over his head, nearly dislodging the cats on his own legs. “Can you watch them? I’m going to grab some bowls of food.”

“Sure thing!” Billy saluted and settled back, glad that it was still warm out despite the rain that was now basically pouring down. 

Ren opened up his umbrella and dashed away into the downpour and Billy watched as all the displaced cats from his lap rather quickly made their way over to Billy instead. 

He didn’t move, careful not to jostle them until Ren returned and they voluntarily left to go investigate the food. 

Neither of them spoke even as Ren sat down beside him again, but it was hardly an uncomfortable silence. 

Sometimes, words just weren’t necessary. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the hits and kudos so far! I know this fandom still isn't very big but I appreciate that people are reading these!


	6. Luck

“Damn rain.”

It was still pouring when Faith made his way to the club, and while he’d hoped that the weather would clear a bit with nightfall coming on, that didn’t seem to be the case. 

It wasn’t unheard of for him to work a Friday/Saturday set in the same location, but the thought of encountering Billy again after the night before made his enthusiasm wane somewhat. 

He cursed as a car sped by, hitting a puddle and sending a wave of water up onto the sidewalk--and his pants--and hunched over more, determined to make this walk as short as possible.

“It’s your lucky day, DJ~”

“Huh?” he blinked, realizing that the rain that had been previously pouring down onto his face was suddenly shielded by a rather large umbrella. 

“You looked a little wet,” Billy was smiling, though he wasn’t looking directly at Faith. “Come on.”

“Ah, yeah. Thanks,” Faith shuffled closer, neither of them speaking again until they’d made it to the rear door of the club. “Hey…”

“Yes?”

And Faith paused, because what could he really say? He had nothing to apologize for, not really; his personal life was hardly the business of some random guy he’d known for a few weeks at best.

“Uh. Thanks again. For the umbrella,” he clarified, needlessly, and Billy’s expression was once again unreadable because of those damn goggles. 

“No worries, DJ!” he exclaimed brightly. “I know there’s a way to make rain-soaked totally sexy but ‘drowned rat’ isn’t a good look on anyone.”

“Are you saying I’m the second one?” Faith pretended to take offense to that as Billy leaned in and tugged at a long piece of his hair. 

“You’re dripping,” he shook his hand off and pushed the door open, leaving his umbrella beside the coat rack on the other side. 

“Ugh,” Faith attempted to shake at least a bit of the water off before he made a mess of the floor, but that was almost futile. “I’m gonna...try and get dry,” he decided, making his way to the nearest washroom.

“Good luck~” Billy called after him, still sounding amused, and while this probably wasn’t the most _ideal_ way to get back on good terms with the bartender...it  _ did  _ seem to be working, so maybe he could handle a little water after all. 


	7. Coffee

“Try this.”

“What is it?”

“Try it,” Billy insisted, dropping back behind the bar again to seemingly take inventory. 

Faith was as dry as he could be, all things considered, and they still had time before the club officially opened. Since all of his equipment was still set up from the night before, Faith really didn’t have much to do, and somehow he’d found himself seated at the bar.

He glanced suspiciously at the brownish, milky liquid in the glass he’d been handed and took the tiniest sip, immediately breaking out into a coughing fit as whatever-the-hell-that-was somehow went right up his nose and managed to burn his throat at the same time.

“It’s horrible, right?” Billy popped back up, marking something down on a checklist. 

“Wh-what  _ is  _ that?” Faith croaked, finally managing to draw in a proper breath of air.

“ _ Apparently  _ it’s coffee liqueur,” Billy muttered. “I guess my usual kind was out of stock so they sent this as a replacement, but…”

“You can’t serve that,” Faith’s eyes had started watering now and he rubbed them irritably against the still-damp sleeve of his shirt. “Damn.”

“I figured, but thanks for the confirmation~” Billy scribbled something else down before setting the list off to the side. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise~”

Faith laughed and shook his head, unsure how to reply to that, but after a few moments of thinking he leaned forward. 

“Hey. Wanna...I dunno, mid-afternoon breakfast after working all night is always good, I figure, and there’s this diner over in Yellow West that has decent food. I mean. If you  _ really  _ wanna make it up to me,” he added, and Billy actually seemed  _ surprised  _ by the words.

“Okay. Yeah,” he said after a few long moments of silence. “Just don’t order something too expensive,” he was obviously teasing and Faith relaxed. 

“Cool. Gimme your number; I’ll text you the address later. 3:00 work for you?” 

“Well, let me check my  _ extremely busy  _ schedule…I’m kidding,” Billy added quickly, digging his phone out so they could exchange information.

“Great,” Faith still felt like things between them weren’t...back to where they had been yet, and it was bothering him more than he’d like to admit. “Look, about last night—“

“Nope,” Billy leaned across the bar, pressing two of his fingers to Faith’s lips to stop him. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

Faith blinked at him, mouth turning up into a smile as Billy seemed to realize what he was doing and pulled away quickly. 

“Still. Maybe I can make a more positive impression,” Faith winked and moved back before getting up, thinking that he should at least  _ check  _ his equipment before things really got going in the club. 

If nothing else, he was feeling better. So that was something. 


	8. Date

“Hey!”

“Hey, yourself,” Faith raised one hand in a wave, watching as Billy ran up to the front of the diner. He’d replaced the usual button-down he seemed to favor wearing at work with a more casual hoodie and jeans, but otherwise he looked much the same--including the goggles.

Faith yanked the door open, motioning to Billy to enter, and Billy gave him what he figured was an appraising glance before going inside. 

“Welcome to--oh, it’s just you,” Junior grabbed a couple of menus and led them over to Faith’s customary booth.

“Don’t be like that, Ochibi-chan! I’ve brought a guest!” Faith slid into one side of the seat. 

“I see,” Junior grunted. “Can I get you and your  _ date  _ anything to drink?”

Billy started snickering at that even as Faith protested that this was  _ not a date,  _ but he knew it was useless since Junior wouldn’t let it go now. 

“I’ll have a coffee. I’m sure it’ll be better than whatever I gave you last night,” he sounded far too amused and Faith let out a tiny snort. 

“It had better be,” he raised an eyebrow at Junior, who just sighed and headed to grab the coffees. He knew Faith’s usual order by now, anyway, so it’s not like Faith even had to tell him what he wanted 

“Cute kid.”

“He’s a terror,” Faith replied, setting his menu aside and idly drumming his fingers on the table. 

“Coffees,” Junior dropped them off, glancing back and forth between the two men seated at the table. “So, what’ll it be?”

“Oh! I’ll just...have whatever he’s having—“

“No, you won’t,” Junior snorted. “He eats dessert for breakfast. D’you like omelettes?” 

After getting Billy’s confirmation that he did, indeed, like omelettes, Junior left them along again and Billy turned back to Faith.

“Do I  _ want  _ to know your usual order?”

“You’ll see,” Faith laughed, though secretly he was glad Junior had stepped in there. Not everyone could handle mega-sized chocolate chip pancakes, but that wasn’t his problem. 

Besides, it was the middle of the afternoon, so it hardly counted as ‘breakfast’ anymore even if it  _ was  _ his first meal of the day. 

“You’re just full of secrets, aren’t you?” 

Billy didn’t necessarily say it like it was a  _ good  _ thing, but Faith didn’t have an answer for him. 

That seemed to happen a lot where Billy was concerned.

“Hey,” Billy reached across the table, resting his hand over Faith’s. “It’s fine, we’ve all got ‘em~”

He smiled, though his fangs did little to make it seem reassuring, but his hand was warm and Faith didn’t see any reason to move away. 

“ _ Date _ ,” Junior whispered, just loud enough for them to hear, and Faith immediately stiffened. 

He knew the kid was just teasing, but at the same time...there was no way this  _ was  _ a date, right?

A tiny voice in his head told him that the fact he was holding hands with Billy said otherwise, but that didn’t mean anything.

It didn’t.


	9. Accumulate

“And then we held hands!”

“Uh-huh. Gimme a sec, I’ve gotta concentrate…”

Billy sighed, more dramatic than necessary, but Gray was undoubtedly attempting some kind of difficult speedrun strategy and Billy knew he got pretty intense when he was focusing on something. 

“Okay, unskippable cutscene,” Gray leaned back. “So...what’s the problem?”

“I still can’t figure him out!” Billy groaned, mostly letting the chair support him as he leaned forward. “Life is hard enough! I don’t need to accumulate _more_ problems!”

“I’m still not sure how holding hands _is_ a problem,” Gray admitted, glancing back to the computer screen. 

“Mm, well...mostly because I can’t get a read on him. He didn’t seem comfortable, but maybe that’s just ‘cuz he seriously didn’t think anything of it,” Billy wasn’t quite sure he believed _that_ , but at this point it was best to keep all of his options open. 

“I mean you...you have his number, right? You could always…” Gray trailed off, attention captured by the game again. 

There was a tiny pinging noise and Billy leaned closer to the main monitor, narrowing his eyes to read the message. 

“Hey, thanks for the $20,” Gray said it almost absently as he continued mashing buttons. “You wanna read it?”

“‘What’s so special about this guy?’” Billy tapped his fingers against the chair, thinking. “Are there kids watching?”

“Probably?” Gray didn’t sound entirely sure.

“Alright, I’ll keep it PG—he’s really hot. _Really_ hot,” he emphasized, seeing Gray smile out of the corner of his eye. 

“Okay, I’ve gotta focus for a bit. Chat can help you,” Gray waved vaguely and Billy attempted to look as pathetic as possible. 

He knew Gray made a decent amount of money doing what he did, but if he could help bring a few extra bucks in, that would only benefit them both in the long run. 

“Okay, chat: give me relationship advice,” Billy kept his eyes trained on the screen until a brightly colored box with the words ‘JUST TEXT HIM’ popped up...along with $50. “Hey, it’s not fair if you get rich off my pain~” he whined, though Gray predictably ignored him. 

There were other messages of agreement and encouragement after that and Billy couldn’t help but feel at least a _little_ better because of it. 

“Your chat gives good advice,” he straightened up and stretched. 

“They do. Usually,” Gray agreed, and Billy waved at the screen before leaving him be. 

It didn’t mean he was _going_ to text Faith, of course, but he could if he wanted to.

That was enough for now. 


	10. Kiss

“Ever had a screaming orgasm?”

The noise Faith made was entirely worth the question, and even in the dim bar lighting Billy could tell that he was blushing. 

“It’s a drink, DJ. Now that I’ve got some _decent_ coffee liqueur I can show off a little,” he laughed and idly tossed the bottle from hand to hand. 

As it turned out, he didn’t have to text Faith, because the man himself had showed up mid-week at the bar with little explanation aside from saying that since he wasn’t on the clock, he could finally take up Billy’s offer on making a drink that was ‘worth his effort.’

The drink, of course, had been Billy’s own idea, but Faith eventually managed to compose himself and seemed enthralled just watching Billy work. 

It wasn’t _exactly_ chocolate, but he figured it would be sweet enough for Faith to like it.

He was just adding the finishing touches when a girl unceremoniously flopped into Faith’s lap, exclaiming his name loudly and kissing him full on the lips. 

Billy was honestly more grateful for his goggles than ever because at least this way he could hide his reaction to that blatant bit of PDA.

“You haven’t returned my texts! I thought we were gonna meet up!”

“Sorry, babe,” he replied, not _sounding_ particularly sorry. “Been busy.”

“You have to _promise_ to dance with me later,” she didn’t seem put-off at all, trailing a fingertip along his exposed collarbone. 

“Of course, of course. Let me finish my drink first,” he was all but purring and she giggled in return, patting his chest before withdrawing. 

He made sure she was gone before turning back, picking the glass up and taking an experimental sip. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Billy replied, forcing a grin onto his face. “You have no idea who she is, do you?”

“That obvious, huh?” Faith looked mildly embarrassed, at least.

“I’ve been at this long enough to know that ‘babe’ is a safe code word for ‘I can’t remember your name,’” Billy kept his tone as casual as possible. 

“Think you can keep me here so she leaves me alone?” Faith’s drink was disappearing at a rather alarming rate but that might be as good an excuse as any for him to not leave his seat. 

“I’d love to, DJ,” Billy absently patted his hand as he went to mix something else, glad that weeknights were slow in general so that he could actually devote most of his attention to Faith. 

It wasn’t like it was a hardship, anyway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, a screaming orgasm is a real drink, and while I found a few variations on the recipe, the main ingredients seem to be vodka, coffee liqueur, amaretto, Irish cream, and some mixture of regular cream/milk, topped with either whipped cream and a cherry or chocolate powder.


	11. Don't Say It

Despite the rumors, waking up in somebody else’s bed wasn’t a common occurrence for him. 

The room was bright, at least, and he seemed to be alone--he still wasn’t willing to open his eyes fully _just in case,_ but the only thing he could really see was what looked like a hammock and a couple of chairs. 

“Wakey-wakey, DJ!”

“Billy?” he rolled over, groaning a little when he managed to shift himself right into a shaft of sunlight. “What…”

“I guess I gave you too many orgasms,” Billy looked far too satisfied with himself and Faith snorted, sitting up slowly and realizing that aside from a bit of a headache he didn’t feel _awful._ “You should have told me you were a lightweight.”

“I’m not. Usually. It’s been a while,” he accepted the glass of water Billy passed him and took a few experimental sips, glad when his stomach didn’t protest. “Am I at your place?”

“You fell asleep on the bar and didn’t want to wake up so I figured it was the safest option,” Billy sat down beside him, and Faith was more than a little disappointed to see that even in his own room those damn goggles were still firmly in place. 

“Thanks,” he nodded and finished off the water, staring at the floor and hearing Billy shift on the bed. 

“So…”

“Don’t say it,” he knew Billy was going to ask about the girl again and that was the _last_ thing he wanted to think about right now. “I know, okay?”

“Yeah,” Billy slid closer. “Don’t freak out on me, alright?”

“Why--”

He stopped when Billy hugged him from behind, chin resting gently on his shoulder, and Faith was more than a little surprised to find out how much he needed the comfort right now. 

Even if he didn’t exactly _deserve_ it. 

“Like I said, you don’t have to justify anything to me. We’re just friends~” Billy’s breath was hot against his neck and Faith relaxed, leaning back into him. 

“Okay,” he conceded, not feeling any urge to move until Billy let him go. 

“Anyway, wanna grab some breakfast? We can take Buddy for a walk,” he shrugged a hoodie on over his t-shirt and Faith was about to ask who Buddy was before a large golden retriever came bounding into the room, already holding his leash.

“Ah. Sure?” he reached out a hand and smiled when the dog eagerly trotted over for attention. “I don’t really have any plans for today.”

“Great! Feel free to freshen up a bit and I’ll meet you in the kitchen, DJ~” Billy herded the dog out with him as he left and Faith sighed, thinking that this wasn’t _really_ how he had planned on spending his day, but…

But he was kind of looking forward to it anyway. 


	12. Ball

“Graaaaay, my love, do you want anything for breakfast?” 

Faith blinked as he followed Billy to a door that was half-closed, unsure of what to expect, but pushing it open revealed a rather elaborate gaming studio complete with multiple monitors and equipment and merchandise lining the walls and shelves. 

The man sitting in front of the computer lifted a cup, obviously filled with some sort of smoothie or protein drink, and Billy snorted. 

“That’s not food. We’re gonna take Buddy out and then I’ll grab you a sandwich on the way home,” he decided, and Faith figured that was that.

“Chat wants to know who ‘we’ is,” Gray mumbled and Billy slid into the room, waving at the computer screen. 

“Come say hi!” 

“Uh…” Faith was sure he didn’t look _great_ after sleeping in yesterday’s clothes, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to just pop in and out. “Hi?” he stepped up beside Billy, seeing a rapidly scrolling wall of text that he assumed was this ‘chat’. 

“Alright, we’re gone,” Billy saluted and yanked on Faith’s wrist to pull him out of the room. “Sorry about that; it’s hard to distract him when he’s streaming. I’m sure he’ll come eat with us later, though,” he dropped Faith’s arm in order to grab a ball from beside the door and caught Buddy’s collar as the dog trotted by, leash still in his mouth. 

Faith looked around after they finally made it through the door, seeing that it was a rather modest-looking townhome complex. Everything was very tidy and neatly-manicured and Billy started walking as soon as he’d gotten Buddy’s leash properly attached.

“There’s a park just down the block,” he called over his shoulder, Faith shuffling along behind him, but once they reached the open field he got the ball shoved at him and Buddy, free from his leash once more, waited patiently until Faith finally threw it. 

“We can stop at this cafe on the way back,” Billy was scrolling through his phone, glancing up every so often to make sure Buddy was still invested in the game of fetch. “They’ve got good food and we can grab coffee too, if you want.”

“I’ll probably need it,” Faith admitted, as Buddy finally seemed to have had enough and lay down at his feet instead. It wasn’t _awkward_ between them, necessarily, but it felt weirdly domestic and he wondered if he was overthinking things. 

Billy gave him a tiny smile and pocketed his phone, reattaching the leash and straightening up. “C’mon, let’s take him around the park and then we can go.”

“Right,” Faith reached to ruffle Buddy’s ears before they started to move again. 


	13. Secret

“Does he ever take his goggles off?”

“Huh?” Gray, despite his initial insistence that he didn’t need to eat anything, had certainly not said no to the sandwich once Billy had delivered it to his computer. He’d even come out into the kitchen and while he seemed quiet and a little nervous around Faith, he was congenial enough. 

Billy had excused himself to the bathroom and Faith thought that was probably his cue to leave, but at the same time…

There was nothing wrong with digging for a bit of info, right?

“Billy.”

“Yeah,” Gray shrugged like this was obvious. “Why?”

“I’ve never seen him without them,” Faith mentioned, trying to sound as casual as possible. “Thought he might have some secret gorgon eyes or something.”

Gray snorted, obviously trying to keep from laughing. “No, nothing like that. Just normal eyes,” he promised, and Faith wanted to dig more but Billy coming back into the room stopped him. 

“Are you gossiping about little old me?” he leaned on the back of Faith’s chair, resting his chin on top of Faith’s head. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much,” Faith figured it wasn’t worth commenting on, since it kind of seemed like the sort of thing where, if Billy found out he was curious, he would be even less inclined to remove his goggles. 

“Right,” Billy’s arms came around him, casual in a way that spoke to his comfort with physical contact, and Faith...well, it wasn’t as if he was really accustomed to that, but he was getting used to it remarkably quickly. 

“Hey,” he tilted his head back to look up. “Do you want me to leave?”

“Only if you want to,” Billy gave him a last squeeze before standing up fully. “And I _am_ going to figure out what you were talking about, you know. I’m good at that~”

“He is,” Gray affirmed, finishing off his breakfast. “I’ve got some videos to edit, though, so I’ll leave you alone. It was nice to meet you,” he added, not quite making eye contact with Faith. 

“Same.”

“Hey! You’re doing a big stream this weekend, right?” Billy leaned across the table. 

“Yeah, I—“

“You should come, DJ. Literally we just hang out all day and night until he beats whatever game he’s playing,” Billy added and Faith shrugged, not really committing, but it didn’t sound like a _bad_ idea.

It gave him a good excuse to get out of potential dates, in any case. 

“Right. Well. I’ll see you,” Gray snuck out of the room and Billy immediately dropped into the chair he’d vacated. 

“I always take the day off so I can be around since he only does it every few months,” Billy explained. “But if you have to work…”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Faith replied, which wasn’t a lie, and the grin Billy gave him at that made him feel a lot better than he probably should have. 


	14. Fridge Door

“Have you actually, y’know, _asked_ him what his deal is?”

“Huh?”

“And you’re the one with the fucking girlfriends,” Junior slammed the fridge door a little too violently, placing out two pieces of cake for them. The diner had just closed and while Faith wasn’t _technically_ supposed to be there, nobody would disturb them and the cake would get thrown out otherwise so...where was the harm?

“Goggles. Have the two of you even talked about it?” Junior hopped up on one of the stools in front of the counter, waving his fork in the air. 

“No? I mean, he’s just like that. I think.”

“So you don’t think he likes you,” Junior looked highly sceptical. 

“Yes? No? Maybe? He’s a guy!” Faith knew as soon as the words left his mouth that Junior wasn’t going to settle for that, and he was right. 

“And that matters because…”

“I’m not…” Faith sighed, because he was starting to question that himself. Yes, he knew deep down that Billy’s interest in him wasn’t purely innocent, but it was easier to pretend and he knew Billy wouldn’t push it more than he had so far. 

But that wasn’t fair to him...or to Faith himself, honestly. 

“Yeah, I thought so,” Junior snorted, swiping his visor off and dropping it on the stool beside him. “Are you seeing him again?”

“His roommate’s some big gamer or something and he invited me to hang out all weekend while the guy’s doing some stream, I guess?” he still didn’t understand _that_ but he thought that was the gist of it. Maybe. 

“Mm,” Junior leaned back, swiveling on the stool. “So take the weekend off and go hang out with him. If something happens, it happens, but I’ve known you for long enough that I can tell you like the guy. More than you’ve ever liked one of your ‘girlfriends’, anyway,” he said it with air quotes and all but Faith couldn’t even muster the energy to be annoyed. 

“Did you like him?”

“Aww, is my opinion that important to you?” Junior smirked at him before growing more serious. “I was watching you with him, you know. You looked happy, so...yeah, if you want my approval, you have it,” he patted Faith’s head and laughed when Faith tried to swat him away. 

“Damn kid,” he muttered, digging into his cake properly. 

“You love me,” Junior shot back, attempting to look innocent and failing horribly. “And you know it doesn’t have to be, like, serious, right? If you just hook up and have fun or whatever, that’s fine, too.”

“Yeah, I know,” Faith nodded, finishing the cake and pushing the plate away. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Junior shook his head. “Now clean your dishes up. I’m not your babysitter,” he headed back into the kitchen and Faith sighed, though he _did_ bring his plate back. 

The kid had given him good advice, after all, so he at least owed him that much. 


	15. Fish Tank

“Woah.”

“Oh, yeah! You probably weren’t here long enough to see that last time, huh?” Billy pushed through the door, arms full of energy drinks and snacks that Gray would need for the day ahead.

The ‘woah’ in question had been caused by Faith laying eyes on the fish tank in the corner of the room, and though it wasn’t massive or anything, it lit up the darkened space and the flashes of light from inside only amplified the effect.

“Tetras,” Billy answered the unspoken question. “We figured they were the most fitting. And speaking of, I’d better feed them. Make yourself comfortable,” he waved to a couch at the back that would just be visible from the camera and Faith sat down, obviously _not_ comfortable.

He still hadn’t moved by the time Billy was done feeding the fish and Billy dropped into his lap, wrapping his arms around Faith’s neck. “Um. Hey?”

“Hey,” Billy repeated, his fingers playing idly with Faith’s hair. “Relax, DJ. You’re more nervous than Gray and he’s the one actually working today.”

“I know, I just…” Faith’s arms came around his waist and _that_ was certainly new, since Billy had always been the one to initiate any sort of physical contact between them until now. “I’m overthinking.”

“Probably,” Billy agreed. “If it’s too much…”

“That’s not it,” Faith shook his head. “It’s okay. You…” he looked up and Billy grinned at him, leaning down to rest their foreheads together. “I asked Ochibi-chan for advice, y’know? Do you realize how desperate I had to be for that?”

“He seems like a good kid!” Billy protested. “I mean, as long as he said good things about me. He did, right?”

“Yeah,” Faith was relaxing slightly, his body sinking into the couch cushions. “I’m still not...I mean…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine! But I think we’re on the same page here, so that’s good enough for me right now,” Billy nudged their noses together and Faith laughed softly.

“Um. I mean, I’m not trying to interrupt, but unless you want chat to notice... “ Gray cleared his throat before taking his seat, getting things set up for his stream.

“Right. Right,” Billy sat down beside Faith instead, close enough that they were practically pressed against each other. “You good?”

“Yeah. Thanks,” Faith leaned into him and Billy tried not to let it show how happy he actually was. “So, I'm pretty sure I've never played this game.”

“Don’t worry! You’ll pick it up quick; I mean, we’re gonna be here for the next…what, eighteen hours?”

“World record is fifteen, but I’m not going to come close to that,” Gray admitted. “So yeah, probably.”

“Cool. You’ll enjoy it, I promise,” Billy squeezed his hand and while Faith didn’t look especially convinced, the fact that he’d shown up at all already meant something.


	16. Joy

“Okay, chat, remember that character naming incentives are in play right up until they’re available,” Gray was already locked in and Faith, despite still not knowing anything about what was going on, had to admire his dedication. “And that’s my couch.”

“Implying that we’re going to be helpful,” Billy laughed. “Chat knows me, of course. You wanna introduce yourself properly this time?” he elbowed Faith lightly in the ribs and Faith blinked. 

“Oh. Uh. I’m Faith,” he waved awkwardly, feeling like he was talking to the air. “And I’m going to be absolutely no help.”

“Also, because I know some of you will be asking...yes,” Billy didn’t say more than that and Faith was curious, but it didn’t seem like the time to bring anything up when there were, apparently, hundreds of people watching. 

“Right. I might ask you guys to look up routing or things like that,” Gray called over his shoulder. “This is a 100% speedrun but the game doesn’t keep track of that so it’s kind of arbitrary, but basically it’s about collecting all the characters and major items and doing all the sidequests, stuff like that. And beating the game,” he added, which was definitely the most Faith had ever heard him speak at once. 

“The characters and the story are really good,” Billy promised, though so far everything looked like a basic tutorial so Faith wasn’t exactly invested yet. Gray kept talking as the introduction played, things about clipping and step counting and strategies that Faith was sure meant something but...not to him. 

Still, he could tell how much enjoyment people were getting from this, since no way would anyone spend their weekend watching someone play a game unless they genuinely loved it. It might not be something he understood, but...it was kind of nice to see regardless.

“See?” Billy nudged him again. “It really feels like you’re part of a community, huh?”

“It’s...yeah,” Faith settled back, trying to get into the story and hearing Gray interject every once in a while to read chat messages or explain what he was doing. “I…”

“Don’t think so hard, DJ. I can hear you from here,” Billy’s voice is pitched low and Faith looked at him, swallowing heavily because he was beginning to think there was _no way_ he could get through this day without...well. 

Something.

It didn’t help that he was thinking about Junior’s advice, too, but that only made things worse because the truth was that he honestly didn’t _know_ what Billy wanted and he was slightly worried about offending him if it came off as him just wanting to...uh...get off.

“I promise, whatever you’re thinking is fine~” Billy patted his leg and it certainly didn’t feel as if things were settled, but...maybe for now, Faith would leave it at that. 


	17. Ache

He was still a little jittery a couple of hours later, though it was getting easier to figure out what was going on and when Billy told him to come to the kitchen so they could make coffee he actually had to pull himself out of the story. 

“It’s just a bunch of battles coming up, you won’t miss anything,” Gray waved at them, and since he’d already made his way through almost all the caffeine in his initial snack pile, coffee was probably not just a convenient excuse. 

And Billy _was_ making coffee, getting everything set up and humming idly to himself while Faith watched him. “He gets a headache if he goes without a caffeine injection for too long. And I’m not exactly immune to that, either,” Billy sounded far too casual for the amount of tension between them and Faith made a tiny noise that he hoped could pass for acknowledgment. 

“Also. If you want to make out, just say so,” Billy was pointedly staring at the coffeemaker as it jolted to life and the grinder started, the noise making Faith flinch as much as the words. 

“I…”

“Come on, DJ. We both know it’s going that way, so why fight it?” Billy crossed his arms and leaned back, and Faith only let himself hesitate for a second or two before he crossed the space between them and pushed Billy against the counter. “Yeah. Thought so.”

And okay, it wasn’t as if he had ever kissed a guy before, but it couldn’t be _that_ different and he cupped Billy’s jaw before leaning in and pressing their lips together. 

Billy smiled against his lips, arms wrapped loosely around his waist, and it wasn’t the frantic kissing session he had anticipated but it made something pleasantly warm pool in his stomach nonetheless. 

“There, was that so hard?” Billy pulled him closer, holding him there. 

And the scariest thing was...it _wasn’t_ hard. It felt entirely natural to stand like this, to be this close, and for someone like him who had made it a priority to brush off any potential relationships as being too much trouble, he wasn’t sure how to process it.

“You’re still thinking~” Billy leaned in to kiss him again as the coffeemaker went off. “Right. We should…”

“Yeah,” Faith agreed, stepping back quickly. 

“We can continue this later,” Billy sounded _way_ too unaffected. “Or else chat will assume we’re fucking.”

Faith laughed before he could help himself, but he had to admit that it rather effectively broke the tension. “I mean…”

“Keep your pants on, DJ. At least for, oh, fifteen more hours,” Billy picked up two mugs and walked back into the office and Faith shook his head before pouring coffee for himself. 

Maybe he didn’t have to overthink this after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It only took them...17 chapters but they finally kissed!


	18. Glue

Dinner time happened at about halfway through the run.

That was what Gray said, anyway, though his eyes were utterly glued to the screen and he seemed to be concentrating really hard on something.

“Come on, DJ, that’s our cue to get food,” Billy patted his knee and stood, stretching before walking out of the room. “We’ll grab takeout from somewhere and get Buddy some exercise at the same time.”

“Uh, yeah. Cool,” Faith was blinking at the sudden intrusion of daylight after being in a darkened room for so long, but soon enough they were heading back with dinner and had just about made it to the door when Billy suddenly turned and waved.

“Ren-Ren!”

The person he’d called to flinched, as if he hadn’t been expecting to be hailed, but he raised one hand slowly and shuffled his way over.

“Hey.”

“How’s Pumpkin?”

“We took her in,” Ren shrugged one shoulder. “It’s getting cold at night and she basically made a nest under my bed right away, so it’s safer for her there. Probably only a few more days,” he added, voice barely above a mumble.

“Cool. Lemme know when she gives birth, alright?” Billy was attempting to stop Buddy from slobbering all over Ren’s pants.

“Yeah, of course,” Ren nodded and left as quickly and silently as he’d come, and Faith waited for Billy to unlock the door before expecting an explanation.

“Pumpkin’s a stray cat,” he said, taking off his coat. “There’s lots of them around here and Ren-Ren’s kind of unofficially become their caretaker. Speaking of, though, we’re looking for homes for her kittens when they come...obviously we can’t adopt one here,” he let Buddy off of his leash and the dog bounded into the kitchen, tail wagging as he waited for his own dinner.

“I mean...I live alone,” Faith admitted. “Never really thought about a cat before, but maybe…”

Billy’s response to that was to grab his collar with both hands and kiss him, and Faith instinctively slid a hand to the small of his back, bracing him there.

“Sorry,” Billy laughed. “But you’re sweet, DJ. Thanks~” he backed away. “You can go back in, I’ll make sure Buddy gets his food.”

“Right,” Faith carried the boxes of pizza into the office, the bag on top holding their dessert since Billy had told him Gray could survive off cupcakes alone so they’d made a quick stop at a bakery on the way back. “Hey, pizza’s here!”

“Thanks,” Gray didn’t look at him but Faith moved closer anyway, setting one of the boxes down beside him. “Chat says hi, so they’ve already adopted you.”

“Hey,” he waved at the screen, really not sure how he was supposed to feel about that.

“It’s good,” Gray promised, and Faith really couldn’t do anything else but believe him.


	19. Planner

“Oh, I love this part!” Billy raced to the computer so he could lean closer, pizza long devoured. He didn’t think any of them were tired yet, since Gray streamed at all hours and he and Faith were used to working late, but after so long it was hard not to feel a bit of exhaustion. 

There was always a threshold, though, and once they got over it the rest of the night tended to pass in a blur. 

Still, he’d been more on-guard than usual today because of Faith, and despite the fact that things had worked out...well, better than expected, he wasn’t going to take anything for granted. 

“Can I get you to check something for me real quick?” Gray looked up at him. “Just a routing thing, I know there’s a quicker way to get through this than the one I’ve got in my planner…”

“Yep,” Billy pulled his phone out, squinting at the screen and eventually deciding now was as good a time as ever to, well, reveal himself fully. 

It wasn’t exactly fun wearing goggles in the dark all day, after all, and even if Faith hadn’t said it outright, he knew the other man was curious. 

He pulled them down around his neck, blinking to get used to the influx of light from the various screens in the room before relaying the information he’d found. 

“Thanks,” Gray adjusted his own route immediately and Billy wandered back to the couch, noticing that Faith was half-dozing, propped up on the arm. 

“Come on, DJ, don’t fade on me now.”

“Huh?” Faith blinked himself awake, focusing on Billy for a good few seconds before his eyes widened. “Wait, you…”

“Hey,” Billy grinned. “Come to the kitchen with me. We’ll get dessert set up,” he’d put everything in the fridge earlier so it was a good enough reason to sneak out, though he wasn’t exactly expecting Faith to basically slam him against the wall as soon as they’d gotten out of the office.

“You…”

“Yeah?” Billy hooked his foot around Faith’s ankle, holding him in place. 

“How many hours?” Faith looked like he was trying really hard to keep himself in control and it was flattering since Billy wasn’t used to anyone having that reaction to him. 

“Six? If we’re lucky,” Billy slid his hands down Faith’s chest, feeling his own heartbeat start to quicken. 

“Okay. Okay,” Faith took a step back with obvious effort, breathing deeply. “Also you’re, uh. Really cute. I mean. Not that you weren’t before? I just…”

“It’s fine, DJ,” Billy busied himself with getting the cupcakes out, holding all three plates and making his way back into the office. 

At least the game would be a good distraction. 


	20. Keys

As it turned out, Faith didn’t actually live that far from Billy, even if it felt like an eternity to get to his place and even longer to fumble with his keys. 

Billy had assured him that they could leave once Gray’s stream was done, since the other man would likely just pass out for twelve hours, and overall Faith thought it had gone well even if he still only felt like he had the vaguest idea of what had gone on. 

Well, that wasn’t exactly important right now, and he didn’t even bother turning the lights on, making his way to the bedroom entirely by feel and trying to get his clothes off at the same time. 

“Fuck,” he muttered as soon as he’d gotten out of the tangle that had become of his shirt, realizing belatedly that he wasn’t prepared for this at _all._ “I don’t have...”

“Oh,” Billy clicked his tongue, standing in a shaft of moonlight with his arms crossed and a thoughtful look on his face. “We don’t have to...I mean. Eventually? But we can just…”

“Just…” Faith swallowed heavily, letting his shirt drop to the ground. 

“Let me,” Billy moved closer, pushing him back onto the bed, and then Faith couldn’t find the energy to worry at _all_ with Billy perched on top of him. 

It wasn’t necessarily pretty, not while fighting against arousal and tiredness in equal parts, but none of that mattered once they were naked and pressed up against each other, Billy’s hand wrapped around both of them. 

Faith pulled him up enough to kiss him, gripping him hard enough to bruise, and when he came it was with a low moan and he could feel Billy tense on top of him, letting out a breathless gasp into his mouth while he rode out his own orgasm. 

They were both a mess after, sweaty and sticky and too tired to do anything about it, and Billy was almost absently nibbling at his shoulder, fangs brushing his skin now and again. 

“Hey,” he murmured, sliding his fingers through Billy’s hair and thoroughly messing it up. 

“Mm,” Billy replied, lifting his head. “Was that okay?”

“Uh...yeah?”

“Juuuuust checking~” Billy nuzzled against his neck, yawning. “Long day, huh?”

“Yeah, kinda. Thanks for inviting me, though. It was fun, and like...I don’t just mean this part of it,” he added with a tiny laugh. 

“Good, good. I’m glad,” Billy rolled off of him, staring at the ceiling. “Can I sleep here?”

“What, you thought I’d just kick you out?” Faith was a little incredulous at that but if anything this _did_ prove that Billy...didn’t entirely trust him yet, and Faith couldn’t exactly blame him. 

“I didn’t want to assume,” Billy turned onto his side and Faith snuggled up to his back, wrapping one arm around his waist. “G’night, DJ.”

“Yeah,” Faith suddenly wasn’t very tired, though, and he had a feeling sleep wouldn’t be coming as easily as he’d first thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It might have taken 20 chapters but that M rating is finally justified


	21. Autumn

“Billy?”

“Hey,” Billy turned to look over his shoulder, smiling before gazing back out the window. The trees in front of Faith’s apartment were almost bare, the last few lingering leaves hanging on despite the chilly autumn breeze. 

Faith was warm against his back then, chin hooked over his shoulder and arms tight around his waist. “Come back to bed. It’s early.”

“Yeah?” Billy reached for his hand, sliding their fingers together and sighing. 

“You know I don’t…” Faith sounded like he was considering his next words carefully. “It’s not like I take girls home often. Or at all, really. So if you’re worried about that…”

“You’re too perceptive, DJ,” Billy laughed quietly. “It’s dangerous. You’re not allowed to be hot _and_ smart.”

“I can’t help it,” Faith didn’t sound ashamed at all. “But seriously, it’s cold.”

“Okay,” Billy slid his pants off and crawled under the covers again, letting Faith wrap him up. It was comfortable, but Billy refused to let himself look too much into it. He’d enjoy the ride for as long as he could, of course, but it was foolish to assume anything more than that. 

“What’re you thinking about?” Faith’s hand was resting lightly in the curve of his waist, something casual and possessive about the touch at the same time. 

“Nothing, nothing~” Billy promised, closing his eyes and grinning and feeling more than a little exposed without his goggles to hide behind. His eyes were too honest, for one thing, so that was already working against him here. 

“Alright,” Faith certainly didn’t sound like he was buying it. “We’re cool, though. Right?”

“Yep, completely!” 

“Good,” Faith kissed him, something so gentle about it that Billy almost felt his walls starting to crumble, but he forced himself to stay strong. “Do you have any plans for today?”

“I thought we should probably pick Gray up some breakfast and go back,” he was glad for the subject change. “I mean, if you want to come with.”

“Yeah, sure,” Faith yawned. “Can it wait a couple of hours though? You know we didn’t get to bed until like...five in the morning.”

“Lunch, then,” Billy laughed, running his hands down Faith’s chest. “Hey. When are we working together again?”

“Next Friday? I think,” Faith sounded half-asleep. 

“Send me your setlist beforehand, okay? I’ve got an idea,” Billy was tapping his fingers idly against Faith’s shoulder now. “It’s nothing bad, I promise.”

“I trust you,” Faith sighed and rolled him onto his back, leaning over him. “Seriously, sleep.”

Billy smiled up at him, pulling him down into a kiss and holding him there. “Okay.”

“Good,” Faith practically flopped half on top of him but it wasn’t like Billy _minded,_ and he could definitely use some more sleep. 

Everything else could be worried about later. 


	22. Candy

“What’s this plan of yours, anyway?”

“You’ll see,” is all Billy offered up, lollipop firmly stuck in his mouth while he set things out for the night. “Candy?”

“Are you giving it out for trick-or-treating now?” Faith laughed, but he dug into the rather kitschy bag anyway. 

“Spirit of the season and all that!” Billy gestured. “But right. Plan. Choreographed flair bartending,” he tossed a bottle up and caught it before placing it on the bar. “We’re supposed to put on a show, right?”

“Mm,” Faith glanced around before reaching to subtly let his fingers rest over Billy’s for a brief moment. They hadn’t spent _that_ much time together in the past week, but Billy was starting to maybe-kind-of-sort-of believe that Faith was serious about this. 

...Or, he would have been, except of course this was the point that a rather large group of girls had descended on Faith and were all clamoring for his attention. 

By the time it came around to “Faith-sama, why are you talking to that nerdy bartender when you have _me?_ ” Billy decided it was a good time to check his stock in the back. 

It didn’t hurt, necessarily, but if Faith still wasn’t telling any of them ‘no,’ it hardly mattered that he was telling Billy ‘yes.’ 

“Hey, sorry,” Faith pushed into the back room after him, closing the door firmly. “I…”

“It’s fine, DJ. I get it,” Billy reached to grab a box from one of the high shelves and flinched a little when Faith gripped his waist, steadying him. “Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Faith waited until he had put the box down before speaking again. “Seriously, though…”

“I mean, I always knew you were out of my league, so I can handle it,” Billy _really_ didn’t want to get into this now--or ever--and he got the perfect distraction when his phone buzzed. 

_Hey. Pumpkin had her kittens. Come over this weekend._

“That’s Ren-Ren. The kittens are here,” he said softly. “Wanna come see them Sunday?”

“Can I?” 

“Yeah, why not?” Billy let Faith pull him closer and melted against him, because he wasn’t _that_ strong. “I need to work, DJ.”

“Okay,” Faith squeezed his hand before letting him go, and it didn’t change anything, so Billy pushed it to the back of his mind for now. 

He had a job to do.


	23. You Don't Say

“We’re here to see the kittens.”

“You don’t say.”

Billy had never seen the man holding the door open before, but he assumed he was Ren’s roommate because, well, who else would he be? 

He grinned, though, which immediately made Billy feel at ease, and held out his hand. “Gast. Ren told me you were coming over.”

“Oh, good! Then you know who we are!” Billy accepted the handshake and made his way inside when prompted, Faith shuffling along behind him. 

They hadn’t really spoken since Friday night, though Faith had seemed impressed by his show and he had to admit to taking a _little_ pride in that. 

“Come in, he’s just…” Gast took them to a bedroom and Ren popped his head out, his face softening the barest amount when he saw who was there. 

“Hey,” Ren let them in and Billy noticed a rather large cat bed on the floor, though a closer look revealed a number of tiny bodies inside. Pumpkin was grooming herself, unconcerned, and her kittens all looked to be asleep. 

“They’re so small,” Billy kneeled down, unable to keep from smiling. 

“Three girls and a boy, we think,” Ren explained. “The orange one’s the boy.”

“C’mere, DJ,” Billy shifted over so Faith could join them, looking incredibly soft. “You’re gonna take one, right?”

“I...yeah. If that’s okay?”

“We’ll probably keep a couple, but yeah,” Ren looked uncomfortable being addressed directly. 

“Cool. You said the orange one was the boy?”

“Want him? It’ll be a few weeks, though,” Ren scratched behind Pumpkin’s ears, the cat purring happily. 

“I think so,” Faith nudged Billy gently. “D’you mind if I name him after you? I mean, he’s the same color as your hair,” he was teasing, but the fact that Faith could potentially have this cat for the next two decades and wanted to name it after him was…

Yeah. It meant something. 

“Wait until his eyes open, DJ, but if they’re blue then you have my permission,” Billy leaned his head on Faith’s shoulder. 

“Deal,” Faith stood up, staring down at the kittens for a few more seconds. “Thanks, by the way,” he said to Ren, who shrugged. 

“It’s nothing. I’m just happy if they can find good homes.”

“We’ll keep looking for the last one,” Billy promised, brushing his pants off as he got to his feet. “Hey, you guys wanna go for lunch? We can bother your kid again,” he slung an arm around Faith’s shoulders and Faith grinned at him. 

“Ren will say no but I’ll drag him along,” Gast was leaning against the doorframe and Ren let out a little annoyed noise. “See? And don’t use the cats as an excuse, they just ate so they’ll be good for a couple of hours.”

“Awful,” Ren groused, but he didn’t exactly hesitate when it came to grabbing a coat and joining the rest of them outside. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this project has actually passed 10k words...that's probably the most I've written in almost a year...


	24. Crate

“Alright, gimme space.”

“You couldn’t do that somewhere else?”

“Nope,” Junior plopped the veritable crate full of diner supplies onto the table and began unpacking. 

Gast and Ren had left after lunch to go check the cats again, but the afternoon lull was settling in and apparently that meant Junior had time to bother them. 

“You seem tense,” Billy mentioned, sitting back with a cup of coffee in his hands, and Junior shrugged. 

“My brother’s been bothering me about school things, that’s all. I told him I don’t want to go to college and I just want to focus on the band, but he said it would be good to have a fallback,” he muttered. “Marion said the same thing.”

“I mean, I’m not one to talk, but I don’t think it’s a _bad_ idea,” Faith absently started sorting piles of napkins and take-out cups. “You’re a smart kid.”

“Yeah, but I dunno,” Junior finished emptying the box and glared at Faith. “Scooch. Or sit by your boyfriend.”

“We’re not…” Faith moved over eventually, letting Junior sit beside him. Billy’s expression was unreadable but Faith couldn’t help but feel like he was fucking this all up _again._ “Okay, fine, yeah,” he slid his hand across the table and Billy gripped onto his fingers. “Yeah.”

“Ugh,” Junior pretended to gag, but he was obviously smiling. “Anyway, Marion’s majoring in music but he said I should take business or something to learn that side of things and it would help.”

“I‘m not much help here either since I’ve basically done odd jobs all my life and gotten by on that,” Billy spoke up. “The one thing I can tell you, though, is that it’s never bad to have an alternate route planned out.”

“Yeah, I guess…” Junior was about to say more when they were interrupted by...well, Faith couldn’t recall her name, but it was definitely one of the girls from the other night at the bar and he immediately stiffened.

“You ditched me, you know!”

“Aha, did I? Sorry about that!” he kept a smile on his face as Junior dissolved into giggles at his side. “I’m a busy guy, y’know?”

“Not too busy to hang out with people like _this_ , though,” she sniffed, hand on her hip. “You have my number. Call me.”

“Yep, I promise!” Faith realized he was still hanging onto Billy’s fingers and while the mountain of supplies likely had blocked that from her view, his first instinct this time hadn’t been to let go. 

Huh. 

He still let out a sigh of relief when she left, and Junior was giving him a rather pointed look, but all things considered, he was kind of proud of himself.


	25. What?

“What?”

“Is it safe to do this? You’ve got…” Faith waved vaguely and Billy kept grinning up at him, looking perfectly comfortable between his legs. 

“I’ve never had any complaints,” Billy promised. “Some people seem to think it...adds to the experience.”

“I mean, if you’ve got a thing for vampires, maybe,” Faith muttered and Billy lightly nipped his thigh in response. “Hey!”

“Are you saying you _don’t?_ ” Billy clicked his tongue. “And here I thought you were kinkier than that.”

“It’s got nothing to do with that!” 

“Suuuure,” Billy stared up at him again and while Faith was kind of getting used to seeing him without his goggles by now, it was still almost a surprise every time he realized they were missing. “So...yes? I promise it’ll be good.”

“I mean, I don’t have anything to compare it to, so…”

“Wait,” Billy looked genuinely confused. “You’re telling me you go around looking like you do and you _don’t_ have people trying to suck your dick at any given moment?”

“Uh,” Faith could feel his face heat up. “It’s not that I haven’t had offers, it’s just…”

“Mm,” Billy seemed to take that as permission and did _something_ with his tongue that had Faith damn near seeing stars. “So. I’ve got more experience than you at something after all, DJ~”

“Is that really something to gloat ab—“ he cut off as Billy went to work again, and then it was impossible to form words at all.

-

“So...you wanna talk about it?”

“Not really,” Faith grunted, still trying to catch his breath. He should have known Billy wouldn’t let it go, but he was feeling too blissed out to even be annoyed. 

“Okay. If you do, I’m here,” Billy snuggled into his chest. “And if you want my opinion, I think the fact that you’ve seemingly never felt any sort of desire for your, uh, ‘girlfriends’ is pretty telling.”

“Yeah,” Faith sighed, tapping his fingers against Billy’s back. “It’s like...I dunno. I’ve never _tried_ getting by on my looks, but it just kinda happened.”

“Not many people are blessed that way,” Billy didn’t sound _bitter,_ exactly, though Faith could hear an undertone of that in his voice regardless. “But I’m not going to tell you what to do.”

“Uh-huh,” Faith pulled him up a little higher. “How many boyfriends have you had, anyway?”

“Don’t turn this on me, DJ~” Billy poked his shoulder. “A few, though. Nothing serious.”

“Serious in what way?” Faith asked softly, not exactly sure what he wanted the answer to be.

“Serious as in I could see myself with them five years from now.”

“Mm,” Faith refrained from asking if he was included in that group or not, because he wasn’t ready for the answer, just like he wasn’t ready to tell all those girls ‘no’ when he really should.

Maybe it made him a coward, but right now, there was nothing else he could do.


	26. Stay Out

“Stay out!”

“I’m just…”

“You don’t have to see him every day,” Ren hissed through the door. “The cats are still here. They aren’t going anywhere.”

“Billy told me their eyes were open,” Faith pressed and there was a loud sigh and a click before the door opened fully. “I wanted to see…”

“All kittens have blue eyes,” Ren grunted. “They won’t go to their actual color for a couple of months.”

“Damn,” Faith shuffled his feet. “It’s still good for me to see him though, right? Get him used to me?”

“Fine. Come in,” Ren herded him to the bedroom and Faith immediately dropped to the floor, looking at the rapidly growing kittens. “Based on when they were born, you can take him home around Christmas.”

“Cool,” Faith stroked the kitten’s head with one fingertip, getting a yawn and a tiny, half-hearted swat in return. “Sorry for barging in, by the way.”

“It’s fine,” Ren eventually replied. “I want them to have good homes.”

“I’ll do my best,” Faith smiled as the kitten fell asleep, paws clutching his finger. “So. How long have you known Billy?”

“Couple years, I guess. Ran into him pretty soon after he moved in and he just decided we were friends,” Ren kept scratching behind Pumpkin’s ears.

“I feel like that’s how most people meet him,” Faith couldn’t even be surprised. 

“So you’re his boyfriend?”

“I guess?” Faith shrugged. “Everyone seems to think so.”

“It seems like that’s...well. It should be more important what _you_ think,” Ren looked the other way but Faith couldn’t say much to dispute that. “And I mean, I don’t want him to get hurt, either way.”

“I’m not planning on hurting him,” Faith tried not to sound defensive. “I...I like him a lot. It’s just...complicated.”

“It always is,” Ren sighed and stood up.

“Ren-Ren, are you...hey, DJ!”

“Is my door just open or something?” Ren rolled his eyes and left the room, Billy sliding in and immediately dropping into Faith’s lap. 

“Hey,” Faith pulled him close and kissed him. 

“Well, somebody’s affectionate today,” Billy ruffled his hair. “You really like this little guy, huh?”

“He’s growing on me, y’know? More than I thought he would. I guess I named him well,” he smirked and Billy snorted. 

“Wow, so romantic~” 

“You know I am,” Faith tried to remove his finger from the kitten’s grasp, but tiny claws made him rethink that plan. “He’s clingy, too.”

“Mm,” Billy sounded thoughtful. 

“What? I don’t have to name him after you…”

“It’s just...you know how long cats live, right? I could be out of your life in a month,” Billy was strangely serious. 

“You won’t be,” Faith was sure about that, at least, but Billy didn't look nearly as reassured as he’d expected. 

And he wasn’t sure how to feel about that.


	27. Jack-o'-Lantern

“You really just plonked a cat-ear headband on your head and called it a costume, huh?” 

“You’re just wearing a cape!” Faith countered, adjusting said headband as he sat at the bar. 

Billy hummed, lighting a candle and placing it into the jack-o’-lantern that was perched menacingly on one of the liquor shelves. 

“Well, as you’ve said, I already have the fangs,” he grinned. “I can’t do much else since anything too flowy would interfere with my work.”

“I’d let you drink my blood,” Faith shrugged. 

“Among other things,” Billy replied before ducking beneath the counter, and Faith was only thankful that the darkened club hid his blush. 

“Hey!”

“You came!” Billy popped back up as Gast pulled up to the bar, dragging a very reluctant-looking Ren with him. “No trouble getting in?”

“Nah, the bouncer’s an old buddy of mine, and this one’s only a couple months away from being legal so it’s not a big deal,” Gast hopped up beside Faith. 

“Says you,” Ren still looked less than enthused. 

“I’ll make something sans alcohol for the baby, then,” Billy set to work immediately as Ren bristled even more. “What are you, anyway? A priest?”

“Demon-slaying exorcist,” Ren replied, as if it was obvious. “So both of you had better watch out.”

“Ooh, scary,” Billy shoved something at him that was blood-red and garnished with a skewer of gummy pumpkins. “I know you probably want beer or something but that’s wasted on my talents so you’ll drink what you get~” he said to Gast, who grinned. 

“Just give me whatever you gave him but with a kick,” he requested. “I mean, we vampires have gotta stick together, right?”

“Yep. Please make fun of this guy for his lack of a costume while I work,” Billy threw a bottle up and caught it without even looking. “And don’t drink too fast, you’ll want more later when I pull out the dry ice.”

“Your boyfriend’s pretty impressive,” Gast commented, and Faith smiled without realizing. 

“Yeah. He’s something,” he added, because otherwise it sounded _way_ too sappy. “I’ve gotta get things set up right away but I’ll be back between sets.”

“Right,” Billy set Gast’s drink down and leaned closer to Faith. “Have fun, dear,” he gave Faith a quick peck on the lips before going back about his work as if nothing had happened. 

“Yeah. Later,” Faith smiled, because maybe sometimes things just didn’t _have_ to be complicated, and headed up to the DJ booth.


	28. Cold

“It’s cold…”

“Yes, hence why it’s called dry _ice,_ DJ,” Billy looked at him through the misty tendrils of smoke said dry ice was currently creating, making what should have been a normal drink look more like some sort of potion. “And I promise that one’s not spiked.”

“I know you wouldn’t while I’m still working,” Faith nodded to him and took the glass. 

“Your ears are crooked, by the way--” Billy reached out to adjust them when the usual group of girls descended on Faith and he pulled back, more than used to it by now. 

He was surprised it took them _this_ long, but maybe Gast and Ren taking up space at the bar had deterred them briefly. Those two were looking various degrees of confused and Billy just gave them a wan grin and went back to working with his dry ice. 

“Faith-sama, come dance with us!” 

“Uh, I’m not really…” Faith smiled apologetically, obviously trying to get the girls to depart. “I have another set soon…”

“You have time for one song!”

“I…”

And Billy knew, in that moment, that he would have to take a stand if he ever wanted this sort of thing to stop. Gast was looking more than a little apprehensive and Ren was still attempting to be invisible so he was the only one that could speak up—and maybe it was about time he did.

“Ladies, while I’m sure DJ here appreciates the offer, the only one he should be sharing a dance with is his boyfriend. Who’s on break starting...now, so there’s no reason not to,” he didn’t want for Faith to respond, instead moving out from behind the bar and heading into the supply room to store the dry ice until he got back.

The door opened and shut quickly and he smiled, not turning around. “Managed to escape?”

“I think they were all kinda surprised,” Faith’s arms circled his waist and Billy leaned back into him. “Thank you. And I’m sorry, I…”

“I know. It’s fine,” Billy hummed, even if it still kind of wasn’t. “So. Wanna dance? I’ve had some formal training but I’m not sure ‘club grinding’ qualifies as a ballroom style.”

“You’ve really done everything, huh?” Faith looked moderately impressed. “And you mean...in here?”

“Why not? We can recreate that awkward middle school Halloween slow-dance vibe,” he wrapped his arms around Faith’s neck. 

“Sure, sure,” Faith adjusted his grip a little. 

“Did those girls say anything, by the way?”

“If they did, I didn’t notice. I was too busy following you,” Faith admitted.

“Sorry if I was out of line,” Billy felt like he should at least say it, even if what happened had been a long time coming.

“You weren’t. I’m glad you did,” Faith pulled him even closer and Billy leaned his head against the other man’s shoulder, feeling more or less at peace. 

It was nice. 


	29. Bounce

“You’re sure it’s okay?”

“I mean, why wouldn’t it be? You don’t get to hand out candy at your apartment, right?” Billy idly bounced the ball he was holding on the sidewalk, letting Buddy bound after it. It wasn’t exactly warm outside, but the dog still needed his exercise. “We can make a night of it.”

“Sure, then,” Faith still seemed distracted, though, and Billy waited until they were back at his place and he was dumping a veritable mountain of miniature chocolate bars into a chest before asking. 

“What’s up?”

“I’ve been thinking…” Faith paused, leaning back against the counter. “D’you wanna come home with me for Thanksgiving?”

Billy nearly spilled the candy everywhere because that was the _last_ thing he was expecting, and he turned to Faith in surprise. 

“Home? Like…”

“To meet my parents. Yeah. They always say I should bring someone, so…” he shrugged like it was no big deal but it sure _sounded_ like one. “My brother will probably be there, too.”

“You have a brother?” Billy recovered quickly, deciding turning this around on Faith was preferable to thinking too much about it. 

“Stop, he’s 30,” Faith sniffed and Billy shrugged.

“And? Is he hot?”

“I mean, he’s not ugly? It’s not like we’re that close,” Faith added, but that was enough for Billy to be curious. “So that’s a yes?”

“I dunno, am I ready to meet the family?” Billy closed the box, opening it immediately to make sure the cacophony of howls and screams played properly before sealing it once more. 

“They live in the city so it’s not like we have to travel far,” Faith added, trailing as Billy went to set the candy on a stool near the front door. 

“Alright, yeah,” Billy decided there was nothing _wrong_ with the idea, and it might be nice to have an actual family dinner for once. “I’d extend the same offer but I’ve just got my dad and I don’t see him very often.”

“Oh,” Faith obviously sensed that Billy had offered up all he was about to on that particular topic and didn’t push. “Well. I’m sure my folks would love to have you.”

“You really are sweet when you want to be, you know that?” Billy kissed him quickly. 

“Yeah, don’t tell anyone, though,” Faith followed him back into the house, Billy going to Gray’s office to check on him. 

“You’re gonna join us for Halloween movies later, right?” he raced to lean on the other man’s chair and waved at the screen.

“Yeah, I’ll wrap up in a couple of hours,” Gray looked back. “Come say hi,” he addressed this to Faith, who casually ambled in. 

“Hey, chat,” he looked a little more comfortable addressing the air and Billy had to laugh at how much the speed of the messages increased. 

The doorbell ringing interrupted the moment and Billy dashed out to greet the first wave of many full of candy-seeking kids. 


	30. Almost Done

“Almost done,” Billy glanced at the clock, seeing that it was getting close to 10 at night. “Normally after this the only people out are teenagers so it’s probably safe to wrap things up.”

“Do you usually get that many?” Faith was holding a notepad, keeping track of how many kids had shown up, and Billy hadn’t looked at it but he was guessing it was well over a hundred. 

“Yeah, there’s a lot of families that live in the complex and around the park,” he closed the screaming chest and locked the door, turning the porch light off. 

“You ever thought about, y’know, kids?” Faith said it so casually that Billy had to stop and look at him. “I mean, you seemed really good with them…”

“I am. I think,” Billy sighed and dumped the contents of the chest back into a waiting bowl that he dropped off on the coffee table. “I did street magic, y’know? So I got used to that kind of audience, but I’ve never thought about it much for myself. Why? Does your brother have kids?”

“Brad?” Faith snorted. “He’s married to his job and that’s about it.”

“Well. It’s not like there’s any rush, right? We’re young,” Billy hopped onto the couch. “Gray, get out here!”

“I’m coming,” Gray stumbled out of the office and plopped beside Billy, blinking to adjust to the light. “Why are you talking about kids?”

“Why _are_ we talking about kids?” Billy questioned and Faith shrugged. 

“No reason,” Faith sat on Billy’s other side. “I was just curious since I know you don’t have any younger siblings.”

“Mm. Well, I pride myself on adjusting quickly to every situation. I’m exactly who people want me to be,” Billy leaned forward. “I’m not saying it’s a _good_ thing, but it’s just natural by now.”

Gray reached to absently pat his leg and Faith hesitated before slinging an arm around his shoulders and pulling him over. “You’re not with us, though. I mean…”

“Well, you two probably get the closest to the real me I’m even capable of anymore,” he tried to keep his voice as light as possible. “But that’s not important! We’re marathoning movies until the sun comes up!”

“If you say so,” Gray already looked drowsy and Billy figured he’d be out by the end of the first hour. 

“And then tomorrow we can all go for breakfast,” Billy added, because he was kind of coming to appreciate the atmosphere of what was quickly becoming ‘their’ little diner.

“Yeah, sure,” Faith pulled him closer and pressed a kiss into his hair. “Pick whatever you want and we can get going.”

“Oh, I plan on it, DJ,” Billy was already scrolling through the options, though in his mind, the present company mattered far more than anything he could ever choose. 


	31. A Barman

“I don’t fucking care if you don’t like cake, there was a whole half of one left from last night so I’d better not hear any complaining or I’ll make you pay for it,” Junior set a tray full of plates on the table. “And if you don’t eat it, he will,” he pointed to Faith.

“Hey!”

They had indeed gone for breakfast...or more like a late lunch, by the time Faith had stopped by to see Billy-the-cat and gotten Gast and Ren to join them.

“Your group keeps growing,” Junior leaned against the edge of the table.

“This is pretty much it. I think,” Billy admitted, absently digging into his piece of cake and deciding that it was good. He’d never like chocolate as much as Faith, but it was a shame to let any food go to waste. 

“I mean, it’s better than when this guy came in alone and just bothered me all day,” Junior shrugged. 

“Oh!” Billy nudged Faith in the side. “Why don’t you ask him? About the cats?”

“The…” Faith blinked. “Ah. Have you ever thought of adopting a cat, Ochibi-chan?”

“A what?” Junior looked confused. 

“We took in a pregnant stray and are looking for homes for the last of her kittens,” Gast took over the explanation. 

“I mean, I’d have to ask Marion, since I’m supposed to be living with him once I graduate, but...maybe?” Junior didn’t look opposed to the idea, at least. “More and more changes, huh. If you would have told me two months ago that you’d be dating a barman I would never have believed it.”

“Well, it happened,” Faith stretched, mostly as an excuse to settle an arm around Billy’s shoulders. “And I’m not mad about it.”

“Wow, don’t I feel special after that~” Billy laughed, but by now he knew what Faith really meant. 

It was hardly perfect, and they were still learning about each other, but he was starting to think this could actually work and that...wasn’t something he was used to. 

“Oh, by the way, chat keeps asking me for updates on you two. Can I tell them anything?” Gray asked quietly. 

“Wh-”

“Oh, I never told you!” Billy thought he should maybe be a _little_ embarrassed about the whole thing but mostly he just found it funny. “They gave me relationship advice after I was lamenting this super-hot dude that I thought wasn’t into me. I guess it’s no surprise they figured it out once you showed up.”

“Huh,” was all Faith said as Junior started to snicker. “I mean, it’s fine with me?”

“Okay. I’m not gonna give them details,” Gray promised, and that seemed to be enough for Faith.

“Cool,” he finished off his cake and looked around hopefully until Ren pushed his plate over. “Thanks, man.”

And Billy thought that, if this was indeed his new normal, it wouldn’t take long at _all_ for him to get used to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'A Barman' was actually the last prompt of the original list I found so it was actually kind of perfect!
> 
> And that brings us to the end of this! I can't believe I've written nearly ~15k for this AU in a month and actually kept up with posting, but it was a lot of fun and I've gotten kind of attached to it...I might come back to it at some point because there's definitely more to be explored.
> 
> That being said, I hope if you read this that you enjoyed it, and feel free to drop a comment or stop by on twitter as well! Thanks, everyone!


	32. Christmas Special

“No.”

“Aww, why not?” 

“Because it’s asking for trouble,” Junior plucked the sprig of (fake) mistletoe out of Faith’s hand and placed it safely on the counter. 

“It should be fine over the jukebox, right?” Billy was leaning rather precariously on top of a stepladder, making sure the last of the garland was secured to the ceiling. 

“I’m not taking any chances. Hang it in your own doorway if you need an excuse to make out,” Junior glanced at his phone and swore. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve gotta be out of here right away,” he sighed and took his apron off. “Thanks for helping with the decorations but you’ll have to take your cake to go.”

“I mean, I don’t really care as long as I get my cake _some_ how,” Faith smirked, causing the boy to groan as he headed for the fridge. 

“Here, half a cake, Merry Christmas,” Junior was about to say more when the door opened, the tiny bell above jingling. “We’re closed! Can’t you read the damn…”

“I can, but I assumed I was exempt from that.”

“Marion! Shit, gimme five minutes—two minutes! Uh,” Junior seemed unusually flustered at the unimpressed look he received as a response. “This is Marion,” he said quickly. “Marion, Shitty DJ and Goggles; feel free to ignore them.”

“Rude, Ochibi-chan,” Faith yelled after him as he disappeared into the back of the diner. “So. You’re Marion.”

“I am,” Marion sat down, crossing his legs and eyeing Faith rather critically. He didn’t say anything more, seemingly content to scroll through his phone, and Faith was hardly going to make small-talk if he wasn’t interested.

“Okay, done!” Billy hopped off of the stool and folded it, sticking it back into a nearby storage closet. “Sorry, I should have introduced myself sooner. Billy Wise, at your service,” he bowed, reaching for Marion’s hand and somehow producing a rose seemingly out of thin air. 

“Ah,” Marion looked hesitant before he took it, his face softening the barest amount. “I’m not one to fall for cheap party tricks, you realize, but thank you for the flower. It’s quite lovely.”

“Of course, of course,” Billy grabbed his coat, nudging Faith’s arm on the way by. “Get dressed and grab your cake.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Faith yawned, shrugging into his own jacket. “So, you two got plans after?”

“Not particularly,” Marion finally slid his phone away. “Practice for the concert.”

“What concert?”

“He hasn’t told you?” Marion looked vaguely surprised before his face became unreadable again. “My program at the university always puts on a Christmas concert and I asked if he wanted to play a duet with me since I’m the featured pianist.”

“Huh,” Faith blinked, because he wasn’t expecting _that_ to be the answer. 

“Speaking of, I do have a few extra tickets if you’re interested. Don’t take this as an act of charity, it’s just important that we fill the seats,” Marion pulled a small bundle from his coat pocket and pushed it across the counter. “Christmas Eve, by the way.”

“Cool. Thanks,” Faith flipped through the bundle, thinking that he could _probably_ find enough people to give the tickets to if needed. 

“Marion! Don’t tell them that!” Junior looked incredibly flushed as he shut the lights off in the kitchen and skidded back into the dining area. 

“Why not? Being allowed to play with the orchestra at all speaks to your talent. You should be proud,” Marion stood up, absently straightening his coat. 

“Because! It’s enough pressure as it is, but if people I know are watching it’s a million times worse!” he groaned. 

“I promise we won’t make big signs or anything,” Billy grinned.

“You’ll be fine,” Marion absently patted his shoulder and swept out of the diner. 

“Seriously, we won’t come if you don’t want us to,” Faith still pocketed the tickets and picked up his cake. 

“No, it’s fine. I’m just...it’s a lot more nerve-wracking to be the focus compared to playing in a band,” Junior sighed. “Anyway, get out so I can lock up.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Faith waved and stepped out onto the street, shivering a little. It wasn’t snowing hard or anything, thankfully, but there were flakes in the air and the wind was bitterly cold. “Your place?”

“Yep! Let’s go eat your cake,” Billy reached down to grip his hand, something that was becoming increasingly natural, and together they walked out into the night.

-

“You’re coming for Christmas dinner, right? My parents basically said they won’t let me in the house otherwise,” Faith’s managed to secure about a third of the remaining cake for himself and is quite happy to sit on the couch and devour it. 

“I’m glad I made such a positive impression,” Billy laughed, vaulting over the back of the sofa to land between Faith and Gray, the latter yelping and attempting to keep his own plate steady. “You have plans, yeah?”

“Uh, yeah. I mean, my younger siblings are probably gonna be out with their friends, but I don’t want to leave my dad alone…” he poked at his cake. “So don’t worry about me.”

“Hey, we can go out for breakfast in the morning first,” Billy suggested. “I know Christmas is never...great for you.”

“It’s fine. I’m used to it,” Gray reached down to scratch behind Buddy’s ears. “And you have that concert the night before anyway.”

“You’re coming, too,” Billy informed him. 

“Is that okay?” Gray looked over at them. “I don’t know…”

“Yeah, of course. Marion gave me a bunch of tickets so if you want one, have it,” Faith passed it over and Gray nodded. 

“Thanks. I...yeah. Thank you,” he looked genuinely grateful. 

“We can ask Gast and Ren too, I guess,” Faith shrugged. “That should take up all the tickets.”

“Easy enough, then!” Billy stretched his arms over his head, balancing the plate of cake on his knee. “Oh, your brother will be there for Christmas dinner, right?”

“Probably,” Faith shrugged. “I don’t think he’d be doing anything else. Why do you care?”

“Because I like teasing you,” Billy leaned against him, tucking his feet under himself and getting comfortable. Faith debated asking if Billy wanted to see his own family but quickly dismissed the idea since besides vague mentions of his father being _alive,_ he’d never offered up anything more about the man. 

So it was probably best to leave it. 

“You wanna stay over tonight?” Billy asked after a few minutes of silence. “The snow was picking up before.”

“I mean, if I’m welcome,” he laughed and looked over to Gray, who shrugged. 

“It’s fine with me...just don’t, uh…” he swallowed and went back to eating his cake. 

“Gray, what are you insinuating?” Billy pushed himself up so he could flop on Gray instead. “Do you think we’d have fun and leave you out of it?”

Gray made a rather interesting noise, reaching to pull Buddy onto the couch so he could bury his face in the dog’s fur. 

“I promise we’ll behave,” Faith grabbed Billy’s wrist and yanked him back in the other direction. 

“Mm, I dunno, I _did_ grab that mistletoe from the restaurant,” Billy shifted enough to pull it out of his pocket. “So you never know where it’ll show up.”

“Stop traumatizing your roommate,” Faith let Billy settle against him, arms wrapped firmly around his waist, and thought absently that he was _happy._

He still wasn’t quite used to it, after so long of doing everything he could to get _out_ of every potential relationship, but it was still remarkably easy with Billy and he never found himself over-thinking or worrying that he was doing something wrong. 

“You got quiet. What’s up?” Billy pulled his goggles down so they were hanging around his neck. 

“Nothing. This is nice,” Faith went back to eating his cake and Gray eventually pulled himself away from Buddy’s fur, though the dog seemed content to go to sleep on the sofa regardless. 

-

“You can take him home anytime after Christmas,” Ren told them the next morning after they’d gone over to deliver the tickets--and, of course, to see Billy-the-cat again. 

“Cool. I’ve already got all the supplies and stuff I need...I think…”

“Cats don’t need much,” Ren pushed open the bedroom door and there was immediately a tiny ball of orange fur wrapped around Faith’s ankles, claws digging into his socks. “He remembers you.”

“Good. Hey, bud,” Faith leaned down and let the kitten sniff his fingers. He let out a tiny meow and immediately went back to chewing on his sock, so Faith let him be. “I’ll stop by the day after, then.”

“Sounds good. Have you asked your friend about adopting one of the girls yet?” 

“We should have talked to Marion last night,” Billy slid into the room and shut the door behind him. 

“I feel like they’ll say yes, but I guess we can ask after the concert,” Faith stood up, bringing the cat with him and letting him attach himself to his shirt now. “Wanna say hi to your namesake?”

“Hi,” Billy laughed and took the kitten from Faith. “I guess his eyes stayed blue after all.”

“Thankfully, since I had no other names picked out,” Faith watched as the cat happily curled up in the crook of Billy’s elbow and seemingly fell asleep. “I think he likes you more than me.”

“Poor DJ, getting to experience what us normal people feel being around you every day,” Billy teased, and Faith decided to ignore him in favor of scratching behind the kitten’s ears, wincing when needle-sharp claws met his finger to direct it to a more preferred spot. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Faith finally managed to free himself and pulled his hand away. “Hey. Wanna walk me home?”

“As if I need an excuse to spend more time with you,” Billy set the kitten carefully on the bed and reached for Faith’s hand. “See ya, Renren. We’ll come pick you guys up Christmas Eve.”

“I know I won’t be getting out of this, so okay,” Ren walked them to the door and waved after them. 

“So, why do you need an escort?” Billy was balancing himself along the edge of the sidewalk, arms outstretched. 

“I’ve got something to give you,” Faith replied, fingers slipping into his pocket to brush against said ‘something’. “Call it an early Christmas present.”

“Ooh, now you’ve got me intrigued,” Billy started humming to himself, burrowed down inside of his scarf until they reached Faith’s apartment building. 

Faith unlocked the door, his fingers trembling a little because he was starting to realize this whole plan was half-baked at best and if Billy reacted badly…

Well, he’d already promised him something, so he could hardly back down now. 

“So?” Billy peered around the doorframe, though Faith knew the only new things in the room were a litter box and an assortment of cat toys and treats. 

“Right. Uh. Here,” he fumbled with his keyring and eventually got his house key off, holding it out. 

Billy’s reaction was to freeze completely, the light reflecting off his goggles hiding his expression, and Faith immediately wanted to take it back. 

“I’m going to need an explanation.”

“It’s not...I’m not asking you to move in with me,” Faith said quickly. “I know you wouldn’t run out on Gray like that, for one thing, but that...that’s not…”

“Not the kind of relationship this is,” Billy finished for him, which was _true,_ though it was surprisingly really hard for him to admit it. 

“Yeah. So it’s not about that, it’s more like...if you ever wanna come over, you’re welcome, even if I’m out or working or whatever. That’s all,” he awkwardly started to pull his hand back but Billy grabbed his wrist. 

“I can accept that,” he finally said, opening his hand for Faith to drop the key into it. “I was worried for a second there!”

“Sorry, I didn’t exactly think this through,” Faith laughed and went to go dig out his spare key. “But you can see why I needed you to come with me.”

“I mean, I _could_ have taken it before and left you locked out, but I’m not quite that mean,” Billy sighed before yanking his goggles down and moving closer. “I shouldn’t have reacted that way.”

“No, like I said, anyone would have been confused,” Faith straightened up and cleared his throat. 

“Thank you. Really,” Billy’s arms wrapped around his neck and Faith leaned closer, making a tiny noise of disappointment when Billy pulled back. 

“Wait! Here,” he dug the mistletoe out of his coat pocket and held it over them. 

“Do we need that?” Faith glanced up. 

“Nope, but sometimes cliches exist for a reason. So why not?” Billy managed to keep his arm up even through the kiss. “And I...one day? I might say yes if you ask.”

“I know. We don’t have to rush anything,” Faith promised him, because he was pretty sure that was the quickest way to scare Billy off and he _really_ didn’t want that. 

“Good,” Billy kissed him again, finally tossing the mistletoe aside in favor of holding him properly. “So. Got any plans for today?”

“I’m finishing up a set for this weekend. Seeing what I can do with Christmas songs,” Faith grinned. “Wanna help?”

“Sure, I could use some inspiration for holiday drinks anyway~” Billy seemed to be back to his usual self and Faith was glad that things were still alright with them. “Come on, DJ. _You_ , at least, don’t have a roommate, so there’s nothing stopping us from doing what we couldn’t do last night.”

“Work first,” Faith groaned, even though now that the offer was on the table it was going to be hard to resist. 

“Fine, fine. I’ll make coffee,” Billy kissed his cheek and headed for the kitchen, and Faith looked after him with a smile. 

-

He didn’t _actually_ get much work done that day.

But maybe that was okay, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to come back to this 'verse so I thought I'd write up a little something for Christmas! Hope you liked it and happy holidays to all~

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [ twitter!](https://twitter.com/EndlessRondo)


End file.
